Mallory goes to Washington…well she’s going in September!

The Bammy Statuette
To find out more about the award click here

We are so proud to be able to publicly announce that Mallory has been selected to be honored with the first Bammy Award for Student Initiative at the 2013 Bammy Awards.

Here is a snippet from the press release:

Thirteen Year Old Mallory Fundora Selected to be First Student to Receive a Bammy Award

Young founder of Project Yesu to be honored for student initiative along with luminaries from across the education community
Today, the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences, comprised of 212 of the nation’s most prominent education leaders and advocates, announced that 13 year-old Mallory Fundora, founder of Project Yesu, will be honored with the first Bammy Award for Student Initiative at the 2013 Bammy Awards. The award will be presented in collaboration with Choose2Matter, an organization that challenges students to share their talents in order to solve global problems. Mallory was chosen by the Choose2Matter organization from among all students who participated in Chose2Matter’s Quest2Matter program.  Mallory is founder of Project Yesu, which raises funds to provide food, medicine and education to orphans in Uganda. Project Yesu has directly sponsored the needs of ten Ugandan children. Mallory has twice visited Uganda to meet “her kids” and has ambitious future plans for Project Yesu.
“Our young people have a way of looking at the world that gives me hope and excitement. It is a way of seeing the world that can make the pivotal difference in the outcome of our future,” says Angela Maiers, founder of Choose2Matter. “Mallory, more than any other student I’ve come across, shows that students are willing to lead the change we need to see in this world.”
Mallory Fundora will be recognized at the black-tie, red-carpet Bammy Awards event in Washington DC on September 21, along with lifetime achievement honors to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, professor emerita Nancy Carlsson-Paige and education stakeholders in 31 categories across the field of education.

When Mallory got the official call, telling her she was chosen to receive the award, she was so excited. As the news sunk in later that evening, she said “I don’t know what the big deal is about me, I don’t do anything!” when asked what she meant by that she said, “God does it, i just listen. I am just an ordinary girl serving an extraordinary God!” Mallory’s humble heart is what draws people to her, and connects them to Project Yesu.

What is a Bammy Award? Thought you might ask that…here is an explanation from the Bammys site:

based on the notion that it takes a village to educate a child, the Academy identifies, recognizes and celebrates the contributions of education professionals, para-professionals and support staff across the entire field — from teachers, principals and superintendents to school nurses, advocates, researchers, early childhood specialists, education journalists, facilities maintenance staff, special needs professionals, school board members, parents and now students. The Bammy Awards acknowledge that teachers can’t educate children alone and don’t do it alone. The awards aim to foster cross-discipline recognition for the vital role played by every member of the education village. The Bammy Awards were created in response to the relentless national criticism of America’s public schools while all that is right in American education is largely ignored.

Modeled on the broad scope of the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys, the Bammy Awards are presented by the Academy’s Council of Peers and Board of Governors. The Academy accepts nominations in dozens of disparate categories, selects honorees, and brings together constituents from the entire education community to recognize the honorees.

Mallory is beyond proud, and honored to receive this award. She looks forward to sharing her story with all who attend the Bammy Award ceremony, getting to tell others her age that they can “be the change” that you are never too young…or too old to make a difference. And like any other 13 year old, she will love the fairytale evening of getting dressed up, walking the red carpet and celebrating all that God has done in her and through her over the past 2 years.

Look for another post after the Bammys, promise we’ll share all the details and lots of photos from the evening.